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Interesting Succulents

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February 24, 2019

I have to say I’m fascinated by succulents, because there are so many varieties, shapes and sizes. One of my favorites is Flapjack Kalanchoe and I think you can see where this name comes from. These plants are fantastic when grown in containers and feature large, fleshy paddle-shaped leaves that are gray-green and when exposed to the full sun the leaf edges turn a showy red. Wait, did someone say they saw a hedgehog in the garden? That’s right it’s another great succulent for the container garden called Spineless hedgehog aloe. This plant has an upright growth habit with an urn-shape and blooms with spikes of coral-red flowers in spring and re-blooms later in summer. A good choice for a spiller plants is Coral Reef sedum. This is a low-growing, mat-forming sedum cultivar. The round flat green leaves have tinges of red and the plant grows to 3” tall and spreads to 12” wide or more. The creeping stems will root into the ground at the nodes. One last interesting variety is the easy to grow Desert Surprise Kalanchoe. This plant has fleshy 4-inch gray green leaves marked with interesting bold maroon spots. Flower stalks pop up above the foliage with small elongated blossoms in the winter season. These plants also work great as succulent combos that are very easy to create and enjoy. I’m horticulturist Gary Bachman and I’ll see you next time on Southern Gardening.

Department: CREC-Coastal Research & Ext Center

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